Publication Planning

Need a new publication or to revise an existing one? Or maybe you need a little guidance staying in brand? Let's work together to identify your publication needs and goals.

Whether you need to create a newsletter, brochure or a custom publication, we're here to help guide you through the planning and production process.

Planning your publication

Start with these questions to help organize your ideas and identify the purpose and audience of your publication.

Why is this piece needed?

Who will read it?

Will it be sent by itself or with other publications?

What information must be included?

What else would I like to include if space allows?

What do I want the readers to do as a result of reading this piece?

Should the publication be a specific size or shape? (For example, must it fit in a business-size envelope, be a self-mailer or be the same size as other publications with which it will be used?)

How many copies do I need?

When will it need to be reprinted?

Will photographs need to be taken or other artwork produced?

Who should write the text?

What is my budget?

When and where do I want the finished publication delivered?

How will this information be shared on my website?

If you want a reprint of a previous publication, which elements, if any, should be changed before reprinting?

NEED ASSISTANCE?

Submit a project request and once received, Mindy Limback, director of creative services, will reach out to schedule a meeting to discuss your needs and help clarify ideas about what content and design are best suited for your goals and audiences. You should come to this meeting prepared to answer the questions noted above under "Planning your publication."

Production process

Generally, each publication will go through these main steps.

Planning meeting is held

After you submit your project request, Mindy Limback, director of creative services, will schedule a meeting to discuss your needs and help you clarify your ideas about what content and design are best suited for your goals and audiences.

When you come to this meeting, please be prepared to answer the questions noted under "Planning your publication." A production schedule will be prepared soon after the planning meeting, based on information gathered during the meeting and current workload.

Text is written and copy edited

Information gathering, fact checking and writing: Writing may be done by our staff or yours. If we do the writing, your help is still needed to define the proper tone, gather background information and choose suitable people to interview. If your office writes the text, please fact-check every detail for accuracy. Refer to the online Missouri S&T Style Guide for the proper punctuation, capitalization and other mechanics of style that should be followed in all university publications. Then send us the final text, preferably in Microsoft Word.

Copy editing and proofreading: All copy (text) is reviewed by our staff editor for consistency, accuracy and conformation to college style. Minor rewriting or reorganizing may be done to improve the clarity and readability of the material, but no extensive changes will be made without your knowledge. All publications this office produces must conform to the university's style guidelines. At each stage of production, our office will check proofs for text and design errors. The final responsibility for accuracy, however, rests with your office.

You review the manuscript

You will be asked to review, provide edits and approve the copy-edited manuscript. This is the last time changes are relatively easy to make, so please examine the copy in detail for errors and be sure you are happy with the content and "tone" of the piece.

If the content must be approved by several people, those approvals should be in place before the copy is returned to the communications department. Work will not begin on a client's publication design until the final copy is in hand.

Design and layout begins

Our staff designers will begin working on the layout, placing images and creating visuals that follow the S&T brand strategy. They will consider your suggestions and preferences along with the publication's practical demands and our general design guidelines, which give a unified appearance to all Missouri S&T publications. Once the layout has been finished, they will share a design proof with you for approval. Our publications are designed and laid out using InDesign software.

Design proof is shared for review

The design/layout approval is the second opportunity you will have to examine and approve your publication during the production process. You will be able to review and provide corrections to up to three design proofs/revisions of the publication. Once our publications team receives the project revisions, a revised proof will be given back to client for another review and approval.

After the final approval, it is not possible to make changes except in an emergency, so please examine this proof carefully.

Publication is sent for printing

The final document and a print work authorization form will be prepared and sent to print. Depending on the project type, a printer proof will be sent back to the communications office approximately one week after the file was sent to print, depending on staffing and workload of print services.

Our office will review the printer proof for any print errors and will share with you for a final review as well. Any changes requested that aren't in error of the printer will result in additional costs.

Finished publications are delivered

Based on the project type, the finished publication will be either delivered to you or mailed to a provided mailing list.

Deadlines

Because we work on many publications simultaneously, meeting approval deadlines is important. A day's delay in approval can throw a tight production schedule as much as one week behind. Any changes consume staff time, which may delay your publication. Also, the cost of making changes and the chance of delivery being delayed by changes increase substantially as production progresses, so make changes early.